Looking For Members Of Vmtb 233 1942-45

[MAJ CWC RET]

WORKING ON A HISTORY OF MARINE TORPEDO BOMBING SQUADRON 233 AT GUADALCANAL, MUNDA, BOUGAINVILLE AND GREEN ISLAND 42-44; MINED RABAUL HARBOR FEB 14, 1944. RETURNED TO US IN MARCH 1944 AND WAS FIRST MARINE TORPEDO SQUADRON ON CVE 106 (USS BLOCK ISLAND) AT OKINAWA, LEYTE AND TAIWAN. HAVE LOCATED ONE OTHER FORMER MEMBER (THAT MAKES TWO OF US) BOTH 80 YEARS PLUS. WOULD BE HAPPY TO HEAR FROM FAMILY MEMBERS. THE LATE ERNIE STAUNTNER (PITTSBURG STEELER GREAT) WAS A MEMBER. SEMPER FI!
CONTACT CHASWCARROLLPHD@FUSE.NET:usmc:

[haxton]

My father Floyd Haxton was a VMTB 233 pilot during the time period you are asking about. He took part in the Feb 14, 1943 mission to drop naval mines in Simpson Harbor but he seldom spoke about this, or any other wartime missions, until shortly before he died in 1991. I was helping him till his garden one spring afternoon when he unexpectedly opened up about the harrowing approach to the harbor and the long slow setup for the mine drop.

I would be honored to share what I know, or think I know, with you and would very much appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Bill Haxton

[niece2]

My uncle MTSgt. Alfred Vernon Tice (Pee Wee) is a charter member of MTB Squadron 233. He was killed in action in 1943 near Munda Airfield.
I am looking for any photos of the Squadron or any other information about the Squadron from the time it was formed until 1943.
He was on the USS Wright from Ewa, HI to Espiritu Santo, New Heberides and then on to Guadalcanal.
Elaine Howell - contact me at elaineph@cebridge.net

[glowplug47]

My father was attached to the 233 and arrived in Guadalcanal late December of 1942 and shipped back out in February of 1944. My sibling's and I are trying to track down any history we can about his time spent there. He as with many veterans he spoke very little about his time in the service. He was originally a radio repairman but was also a gunner in I beleive some sort of torpedo bomber. He had crashed into the Pacific off the coast of California at one time when a bunch of aircraft ran out of fuel due to fog in the area. Fotunatley he went into the sea and only suffered a broken leg. We used to have a news paper clipping about this but my sister has misplaced it for the time being. Anyway, his name was Robert N Davidson, went by Bob and sometimes Dave. He left the service as a Staff Sgt. but do not know his rank while he was overseas. He was from Colorado. If anyone can tell me anything about this period and what was going on we would sure appreciate it. I Have attached a picture of him and a bunch of his buddies
Thanks
Dick Davidson

[franklin31]

:!: My father, Stanley G. Volbrecht took part in a mission to mine Rubaul on Feb. 14, 1943 (I thnk that's the year, I know Valentine's day is correct). He only mentioned it once that I recall. He was a Lt. and flew a TBM or TBF. I related that the plane in front of his was hit with quite a lot of aa and dipped very low, low enough to drag his tail through the water. I believe he said that the pilot pulled up and the long stream of water coming from the rear of the plane was a striking contrast to what was going on. I think he said the plane rolled over after dropping the mine and crashed. I think one of his crew members was killed.

He passed away in 1994 and mother died this last January. We have his flight log if anyone is interested in seeking information about this flight.